Superstitions from Yesteryear

9/13/2024

By M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
Superstition: A belief, not based on human reason or scientific knowledge, that future events may be influenced by one's behavior in some magical or mystical way.

Dream of eggs, sign of money
Dream of snakes, sign of enemies
If you sing before breakfast, you'll cry before supper
Dreaming of muddy or rushing water brings trouble
Finding a horseshoe or a four-leaved clover brings good luck
If you cut your nails or sneeze on Saturday you do it "for evil."
She who takes the last stitch at a quilting will be the first to marry
If you cannot make up a handsome bed your husband will have a homely nose
If you spill the salt someone will be "mad" with you unless you put some in the fire
Stub your right toe, you are going where you are wanted; your left, where you are not wanted
If the rooster crows on the fence the weather will be fair; if on the doorstep, he will bring company
If the first Sunday in the month is unpleasant, there will be but one pleasant Sunday during the month
If by any chance a mourning hat or bonnet is placed upon your head you will need one of your own soon
If your right ear burns, someone is praising you; if your left, your friends are raking you over the coals
Returning to the house for a moment after having once started out will bring bad luck unless you sit down
When in dropping a fork, it strikes the floor and stands upright, it will bring a gentleman visitor; if a knife, a lady
While at the washboard, if the suds splash and wet the clothes you are wearing, you will have a drunken husband
If you drop your dishcloth you will have company; also if you sweep a black mark or if two chairs stand accidentally back to back.
If a baby sees his face in the glass it will be the death of him. If his nails are cut he will be a thief. If he tumbles out of bed it will save his being a fool.
Break a mirror, sign of death. Death is also foretold by a dog howling under a window; hearing a mourning dove, a strange dove hovering about, or dreaming of a white horse
If you see the new moon through the glass you will have sorrow as long as it lasts. If you see it fair in the face you will have a fall. Over the left shoulder bad luck—over the right good luck.